Daily Archives: July 1, 2017

Years after the event, the bank is due in court on Monday for a hearing into the fundraising it conducted in the maelstrom of the financial crsis

Westminster magistrates court will be the venue on Monday for the opening chapter in what is expected to be a landmark case arising from the 2008 financial crash. The former Barclays chief executive John Varley and three of his former colleagues – Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath – are the first senior bankers to face criminal charges arising out of the crisis, and are due to appear in court in the afternoon.

The four are charged with offences following a five-year investigation into the events surrounding the £11.8bn emergency fundraising conducted by the bank in 2008 that allowed it to avoid a bailout by the taxpayer.

Four green technologies are growing fast enough to do their part in a zero-carbon-emissions world by mid-century, an International Energy Agency official said this week in Chicago. But they need a little help from other technologies.

Illinois, Maine, Connecticut: the end of the old fiscal year and the failure of numerous states to enter the new one with a budget, means that some of America’s most populous states have seen their local governments grind to a halt overnight until some spending agreement is reached. Now we can also add New Jersey to this list.

On Saturday morning, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency in the state, and announced a partial state government shutdown as New Jersey become the latest state to enter the new fiscal year without an approved budget after the Republican governor and the Democrat-led Legislature failed to reach an agreement by the deadline at midnight Friday, CBS New York reports.

In a news conference Saturday morning, Christie blamed Democratic State Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto for causing the shutdown. And, just like Illinois and Connecticut, Christie and the Democrat-led Legislature are returning to work in hopes of resolving the state’s first government shutdown since 2006 and the first under Christie, before NJ is downgraded further by the rating agencies.

“If there’s not a resolution to this today, everyone will be back tomorrow,” Christie said, calling the shutdown “embarrassing and pointless.” He also repeatedly referred to the government closure as “the speaker’s shutdown.” Christie later announced that he would address the full legislature later at the statehouse on Saturday.

Prieto remained steadfast in his opposition, reiterating that he won’t consider the plan as part of the budget process but would consider it once a budget is signed. Referring to the shutdown as “Gov. Christie’s Hostage Crisis Day One,” Prieto said he has made compromises that led to the budget now before the Legislature.

“I am also ready to consider reasonable alternatives that protect ratepayers, but others must come to the table ready to be equally reasonable,” Prieto said. “Gov. Christie and the legislators who won’t vote ‘yes’ on the budget are responsible for this unacceptable shutdown. I compromised. I put up a budget bill for a vote. Others now must now do their part and fulfill their responsibilities.”

Politics aside, the diplomaitc failure has immediate consequences for Jersey residents: Christie ordered nonessential services to close beginning Saturday. New Jerseyans were feeling the impact as the shutdown took effect, shuttering state parks and disrupting ferry service to Liberty and Ellis islands. Among those affected were a group of Cub Scouts forced to leave a state park campsite and people trying to obtain or renew documents from the state motor vehicle commission, among the agencies closed by the shutdown.

As funds run out elsewhere, it will only get worse. Police were turning away vehicles and bicyclists at Island Beach state park in Ocean County.

A sign posted at the park entrance featured a photo of Prieto and the phone number of his district office in Secaucus, along with the caption: “This facility is CLOSED because of this man.”

When asked about the sign, Christie spokesman Jeremy Rosen said the governor wanted to make sure people knew why the site was shuttered. “Speaker Prieto singlehandedly closed state government,” Rosen said, adding that the governor wanted to make sure families “knew that the facilities were closed and who is responsible.”

Not all things will be affected: remaining open under the shutdown will be New Jersey Transit, state prisons, the state police, state hospitals and treatment centers as well as casinos, race tracks and the lottery.

A major point of disagreement is the ongoing stalemate between Christie and lawmakers over whether to include legislation affecting the state’s largest health insurer into the state budget.

Christie and Senate President Steve Sweeney agree on legislation to make over Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, including allowing the state insurance commissioner to determine a range for the company’s surplus that if exceeded must be put to use benefiting the public and policyholders. But Prieto opposes the plan, saying that the legislation could lead to rate hikes on the insurer’s 3.8 million subscribers and that the legislation is separate from the budget. Prieto has said he will leave open a vote on the $34.7 billion budget that remains deadlocked 26-25, with 24 abstentions, until those 24 abstentions change their mind.

Democratic Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, of Northfield, was among those abstaining. He reasoned that if the governor did not get the Horizon bill, then nearly $150 million in school funding — $9.6 million of which would go to his district — would be line-item vetoed out of the budget. And indeed, Christie said Friday during a news conference that he would slash the Democratic spending priorities if he did not get the Horizon bill as part of a package deal on the budget. “You want me to wave a magic wand to get a budget?” Christie said. “I can’t get a budget to my desk. Only the Senate and Assembly can get the budget to my desk.”

But where things may get nasty quick, is that Christie said public workers should not expect any back pay. “Yeah, don’t count on it.” Christie said of furlough pay. “That was Jon ‘I’ll Fight For a Good Contract For You’ Corzine. I ain’t him.”

Christie says no furlough pay now: “Yeah, don’t count on it. That was Jon ‘I’ll Fight For a Good Contract For You’ Corzine. I ain’t him.”

Meanwhile, the fingerpointing has begun, including Democrats pointing at other Democrats.

“It seems like he’s just being stubborn,” Mazzeo said of Prieto. “With all due respect to the speaker, then there should be some type of negotiations.” But Prieto said it’s lawmakers – fellow Democrats – like Mazzeo who are to blame for the shutdown. He said he is willing to discuss the Horizon legislation but after the budget is resolved.

Christie has balked at the proposal because he says lawmakers plan to leave town to campaign for re-election and he will be a lame duck. According to CBS, all 120 lawmakers face voters this year.

Finally, putting the sheer chaos of it all in context, Christie who is term-limited and is expected to be out of office by January, has his family staying for the holiday weekend in a state-owned house at Island Beach State Park. The park is closed because of the shutdown.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Voters in the Japanese capital cast ballots on Sunday in an election that could spell trouble for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is suffering from slumping support because of a scandal over suspected favoritism for a friend doing business.

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s long-anticipated 150th birthday celebrations on Saturday were marked by heavy rains and some protests, though the downpour failed to dampen spirits of revelers who thronged in large numbers to enjoy musical performances and parades.

A little more than a week ago it was announced that Whole Foods was bought by Amazon.com for just under $14 billion. One of the major problems with this is that Jeff Bezos, the head of Amazon has deep ties with the CIA and the Federal government.

Wal-Mart being fully in the government’s pocket and now Whole Foods brought under thumb as well, how much longer before Kissinger’s “Food as a Weapon” principle is brought to bear? A good article was just released by Jon Rappaport entitled Buy your food from the CIA: Amazon buys Whole Foods, that is worth reading.

As if that connection is not nefarious enough, there is more: it appears a new cloud technology is being produced for the CIA from…you guessed it…none other than the CIA, as is excerpted here:

The intelligence community is about to get the equivalent of an adrenaline shot to the chest. This summer, a $600 million computing cloud developed by Amazon Web Services for the Central Intelligence Agency over the past year will begin servicing all 17 agencies that make up the intelligence community. If the technology plays out as officials envision, it will usher in a new era of cooperation and coordination, allowing agencies to share information and services much more easily and avoid the kind of intelligence gaps that preceded the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Guess the data center that ran taxpayers billions that is in Utah is not enough, nor the fusion centers in every state. Did you like “…a new era of cooperation and coordination…” between the friendly agencies? And all to “avoid intelligence gaps,” just for your protection, right?

Wrong.

They are tightening the screws, little by little, while they refine all the control mechanisms and place that security web over their number one target: the American people.

They are taking control of the food supply incrementally. Water? Yes, here in Montana, the state just sent out a form for property owners to declare their water rights…as the CKST (Confederated Kootenai &Salish Tribes) Water Compact was passed into law in Montana in 2014. Actions will be taken within the next two years.

As enumerated in other articles, Montana kicked in $3 million after the liberals in the state House and Senate, as well as the liberal governor, Bullock (D, MT) signed the water compact into law. The shortfall is $8 million, as the total state commitment was $11 million. They are just waiting for the Senate to ratify this as a Federal treaty, and then they can (ostensibly on “behalf” of the Indian Tribes) place meters on everyone’s wells…off of the reservation…and “manage” the water on behalf of the Indian Tribes…enforced by DHS.

This is a small slice of the country as a whole. They are following full speed ahead with the Agenda 21 Directive to take over everyone’s food, water, land…everything. A war will surely enable them to throw the Executive Order 13603 into action to confiscate and control every resource in the United States, including human labor…slave labor, to be precise. Incrementally they place these laws into effect, and the stultified public, thinking only of the next barbeque and fireworks party is dumbed down into inactivity.

There’s enough going on in the international arena that is capturing everyone’s attention, such as North Korea’s missile tests and threats, China’s aggressive South China Sea/Senkaku islands maneuvering, and the Syrian debacle unfolding with the U.S. ratcheting up the tough-talk of blaming Russia and Iran for any “Syrian chemical attack” that comes along. Russia also just deployed a new satellite, and there is the possibility that in a televised broadcast, he sent out a message to “sleeper” agent in the West. See the article by Stefan Stanford entitled Vladimir Putin sends message to ‘Russian Sleeper Agents’ in West as Russia Launches Top Secret Military Satellite.

“Hammer and Anvil” usually refers to a military maneuver to crush an enemy force between two friendly elements. This maneuver is being employed here and now, as well: either crush the United States and enslave its people domestically, with an economic collapse or civil war, or just initiate a war with another country and enslave the citizenry afterward. Either way, they are pushing their agenda forward each day. It is just a matter of time to find out which of the two vehicles…international war or domestic tyranny…that they will employ to obtain their globalist and totalitarian objectives.